Gaja Mardaka
A brief history: From genesis to emigration Born on the Ortolan homeworld of Ordatto to a female of his species, Gaja was raised in a typically small clan with a history of excellence between the most admired of Ortolan skills, cooking, and the most recently admired skills, piloting. He attended a trade school at a young age to develop his skills in both careers, not knowing which might serve him best later in life. After graduation at age ten, he was kicked out of the family group (as are all Ortolans) and moved to the capital city to work. The Ortolan would enjoy a thirty year career piloting the simple sorts of vessels employed by the mining industry which epitomizes the limited technological development of Ordatto. Eventually, wanderlust and a passion for new foods overtook Gaja, and he left his homeworld to pursue a career in flight working for Rennedatta Shipping Enterprises. This job took him many places throughout the galaxy, and refined his skill as a top-flight pilot. Additionally, such a long tenure with varied spacecraft led the Ortolan to posses a better than average layman's engineering skill. The shipping years Gaja's long tenure with Rennedatta resulted in his appointment as a captain of the small merchant fleet. He traveled most frequently along the Outer Rim of the Galaxy, learning much about a great many cultures and developing a fairly decent comprehension and command of the pidgeon-Basic trade language. Always a solitary creature, Gaja was seldom known to have any close friendships, though a long standing relationship with a Bith pilot named Queegek Grobbersnads reportedly vacillated between hostility and warmth. Most of Gaja's co-workers would have said the Ortolan captain was slightly sociopathic, with a lack of empathy that ranged from annoying to appalling. Forced retirement Social maladjustments and a penchant for embellishing the truth beyond acceptable spacer norms, coupled with a staunch drinking habit led to the early retirement of Captain Mardaka from Rennedatta and a subsequent tailspin that would find him in an endless string of odd jobs throughout the Outer Rim. At the time of the rise of the Black Imperium, Gaja was employed as a private limo driver on Paxo. His employer was killed during the Black Invasion, and Gaja found his way off-planet, not liking his chances at recovering a decent job under the circumstances. A new direction on Nar Shaddaa The Brood Of Zergata Random chance would bring a hungry Gaja to the doorstep of General Cerebra Zergata, Hutt warlord. Taken in by guards to the Baron's throne room, Gaja was accused of being a spy. Denying this, the Ortolan was given a chance to live: prepare a fine meal for the Hutt, and he would be named a Broodsman, and have a place to work in the kitchen. Fail, and -he- would be the next meal. Gaja's long-developed prowess with food - even Hutt food - would come to his rescue, and the impressed Cerebra would name him head of the Brood Kitchen, henceforth. Sergeant-at-arms, Squadron-Leader Developments within the Brood of Zergata and Gaja's inferences that he was in fact a skilled pilot would lead to his testing and subsequent ascension to the modest rank of Sergeant within the organization. Charged with the leadership of the Brood's best squadron (whichever it may be) and the oversight of engineering and technical matters related to the fleet, Gaja now works both on and off Nar Shaddaa, doing the bidding of the General and generally just doing his best to stay alive. Espionage Not a particularly accomplished spy but a very accomplished sneak, Gaja has developed the alter-ego 'Jaggy Mardakan', a female Ortolan fashion scout working for the conglomerate fashion house, Fallon. The success of this personality and its ability to infiltrate anything whatsoever remain to be seen. Monkeys! Given a pair of spider monkeys by Cerebra as a reward for the installation of thousands of upgrade parts to a supernova-class starship, Gaja seems at last to have found real friends. Tooku and Piku, the blue and pink monkeys are often seen with the Ortolan. Tooku was been dyed blue and is somewhat larger and wilder than Piku. Piku has a natural fur color still, and is wears a tiny improvised flak jacket and is fond of wearing diapers. Both monkeys are male, which leads to frequent territorial disputes, but Tooku's larger size usually ends an argument within seconds. Each monkey has proven to be quite clever, and the Ortolan works hard at training them. ET-Three-Do One other present from Cerebra to his favorite chef: (the way to a Hutt's heart is through it's stomach!) ET-Three-Do, a tiny microdroid whom Gaja keeps atop his head, swaddled in the wrappings of his turban. ET has a tiny cricket microblaster and a bad attitude (for a droid), but is seldom known to fire a shot. Gaja communicates with the droid either verbally, or sends simple alert messages to him by flexing the muscles atop his head in certain sequences. ET doesn't offer much protection...but it's better than nothing, which is how Gaja usually rolls. He's not built for fighting...not even with a blaster. Personality Gaja's personality seems friendly at the outset, though he rarely does things to indicate that he truly values having lasting amicable relationships. The Ortolan species is generally not well socially adapted, as they are known to experience outright disgust for one another once reaching adulthood and possess little else to help them with developing relationship with outside species, either. The harsh genetic reality of the species (each Ortolan dies at exactly 81 Ordatto years of age, whereupon they asexually produce a single offspring) breeds a sense of solitude and bitterness among many Ortolans who venture out into the stars, and Gaja is no exception. Eighty years old now, the Ortolan is looking at his last months of life and wondering what exactly he will do with himself: go out with a bang, or find a way to get back to Ordatto before his time comes, where he can pass on his genes to the next of kin in the line of Mardaka. Thus of late, Gaja is prone to acting rather foolishly, known as an inveterate gambler and a huge drinker among the Nar Shaddaa gambling and night-spots. Role Playing Logs Cooking a Hutt banquet Category:Archived Characters